A word wall is a common sight in a classroom. It is useful
for introducing and reinforcing vocabulary. Its usefulness is obvious in an
elementary, language arts, or foreign language class where vocabulary lessons
are part of the curriculum. In my physics class where there is not enough time
to really teach the core of the curriculum, the word wall has become an
educational decoration. The main problem is how to use a word wall in a flipped
classroom where there is very little whole class instruction. There needs to be a way to adapt the word wall
for individual or small group work time.
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| Personal Word Wall |
For vocabulary, I introduce, define and explain new vocabulary
in the video lessons and provide a list of new and commonly misunderstood
words. Based on some of the questions and responses from students along with
physics word barf, I can tell this is not quite enough work with the academic
vocabulary used for physics. For a student paced classroom, I created the Personal Word Wall
activity. In this activity students use the vocabulary to describe and analyze
the physics found in a photograph. Then create a digital poster, single
presentation slide or sharable document. This allows the student to think about
the physics, process how their thoughts can be expressed using academic
vocabulary and create a product that communicates their learning. The work is
compiled to create a whole word wall for the class, giving everyone access to
vocabulary with pictures and descriptions. With the ability to narrate as a choice, students
who find writing difficult can still express what they understand about the
topic. Pictures give an interesting visual reference to engage students. By
using real examples, students are forced to move beyond the diagrams used in
lecture and see how physics really applies in the real world.
I am looking forward to trying this next year. This version
of a word wall activity, happening at the start of a lesson, has more
instructional value than waiting for review day.
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